Mumbai:Canada-based uranium supplier Cameco is planning to expand its operations in India. The company will meet Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in the coming weeks to discuss about bringing its conversion services to the country, said the company’s president and CEO of Cameco, Tim Gitzel.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Gitzel said, “In the coming weeks, we will talk to DAE to enhance our activities with India. Apart from increasing uranium supplies to the country, we want to offer our conversion services to the country.” The company is into mining of uranium, refining and conversion of uranium.
For a company with 20 per cent of market share around the world, Gitzel added that India’s import of uranium from the company is not huge. “We hope India will increase its uranium imports, considering the country has huge electricity needs.” In 2015, the company had signed a supply agreement with the DAE. As per the deal, Cameco would provide 7.1 million pounds of uranium concentrate till 2020. “India’s uranium requirements is expected to increase rapidly by 2030.”
When asked about the competition expected from Australia, Gitzel said that Cameco is not the only supplier in the world, there are many others. “Having competition is good as it allows countries to go to companies that offer good prices.” According to Uranium Market Outlook 2018, China is expected to dominate future global nuclear power market. Gitzel said, “There is more growth expected from China and India. But as China has many new reactors to serve their requirements would be more.”
According to the International Energy Agency, nuclear power production will grow by about 46 per cent by 2040. More than 90 percent of the net increase will come from China and India. While India has around 22 rectors, China has around 41 rectors.In case of other countries, Gitzel added one can see demand from UAE, Egypt and Turkey. “There are four new reactors in Abu Dhabi and that is a new market.” He stated so one can see expansion here as well.